China - Plate 13....Published Jan. 1814 by J Murray, Albenarle Street (Plate XIII A Soldier with his Matchlock)
Cartographer : - Alexander, William 1767 – 1816
- Date: - 1814
- Size: - 13in x 11in (330mm x 280mm)
- Ref#: - 25464-1
- Condition: - (A+) Fine Condition
Description:
This beautifully hand coloured original copper-plate engraved antique print of a Chinese soldier with his Matchlock rifle - accompanied by text - by William Alexander was published in the 1st 1814 - dated - edition of Picturesque Representations of the Dress and Manners of the Chinese, illustrated in fifty colored engravings, with descriptions.
General Definitions:
Paper thickness and quality: - Heavy and stable
Paper color : - off white
Age of map color: - Original
Colors used: - Yellow, green, blue, pink
General color appearance: - Authentic
Paper size: - 13in x 11in (330mm x 280mm)
Plate size: - 9 1/2in x 7in (240mm x 180mm)
Margins: - Min 1in (25mm)
Imperfections:
Margins: - None
Plate area: - Light age toning
Verso: - None
In 1792, Alexander was appointed as one of the draughtsmen to the Macartney Embassy to China. He accompanied the Earl of Macartney to Peking where he made drawings for the plates which accompanied Sir George Stauntons account of the embassy, published in 1797.
In 1805 he published The Costume of China, illustrated by 48 coloured engravings, after his travels to China with The Earl of Macartney. The work was so well-received that in 1814 he published another book titled Picturesque Representations of the Dress and Manners of the Chinese, illustrated in fifty colored engravings, with descriptions. This publication was re-issued over the next twenty years in various languages including French.
Alexander was an English painter, illustrator and engraver. The hallmarks of his work, usually executed in watercolours, were clearness and harmony of colour, simplicity and taste in composition, grace of outline, and delicacy of execution. He accompanied the Macartney Embassy to China in 1792. Prints of his work were reproduced from engravings. One his of works was used to illustrate Cadell & Davies Britannia depicta.
Alexander was born in Maidstone, Kent, the son of Harry Alexander, a coachmaker. He was educated at Maidstone Grammar School, but in 1782, at the age of 15, moved to London to study art - first under William Pars, and subsequently Julius Caesar Ibbetson. In February 1784, he was admitted to the Royal Academy Schools. He assiduously applied himself to the mastery of his profession, obtaining the notice and approbation of Sir Joshua Reynolds.
In 1792, he was appointed as one of the draughtsmen to the Macartney Embassy to China. He accompanied the Earl of Macartney to Peking where he made drawings for the plates which accompanied Sir George Stauntons account of the embassy (published in 1797) In 1794 he returned to England and married Jane Wogan the following year. She died soon afterwards.
His other principal works were: Views of Headlands, Islands, etc. taken during the Voyage to China (1798); drawings based on Daniells sketches, for Vancouvers Voyage to the North Pacific Ocean (1798); and the descriptive plates to Sir John Barrows Travels in China (1804), and Voyage to Cochin China (1806). In 1805 he published The Costume of China, illustrated by 48 coloured engravings. The work was so well-received that in 1814 he published another book titled Picturesque Representations of the Dress and Manners of the Chinese, illustrated in fifty colored engravings, with descriptions.
Besides his works as a draughtsman, he made several engravings - the principal one of which is a representation of the Festival given by the Earl of Romney to the Kentish Volunteers, on 1 August 1799, from his own drawing.
In 1802, Alexander was appointed professor of drawing at the Military College at Great Marlow, resigning in May 1808 to take up the post of assistant keeper of antiquities in the British Museum. In the years 1810, 1812, and 1815, he made drawings of the terra cottas and marbles in the Museum which were engraved and published in three volumes - the accompanying text being provided by Taylor Combe (keeper of the Department of Antiquities). Alexander had completed drawings for a fourth volume before his death.
He died at the house of his uncle in Maidstone in July 1816, and was buried in Boxley churchyard. He was described in one of his obituaries as a man of mild and unassuming manners, rich in the knowledge of art, and of unsullied integrity.
What is an Antique Map
The word Antique in the traditional sense refers to an item that is more than a hundred years old. In the past maps were sold in two forms, as a single sheet (broadsheet) or bound in an atlas or book. The majority of antique maps for sale today come from books or atlases and have survived due to the protection offered by the hardback covers.
When considering a purchaseThe first thing to determine when staring a collection or purchasing an item, is what is important to you. Most collectors prefer to build their collections around a theme. You may decide to collect maps from one region or country, charting its development through time. Similarly you could collect maps of one particular period in time, by type (i.e. sea or celestial charts) or by cartographer. The collector might also want to consider the theme of cartographical misconceptions such as California as an island or Australia as Terra Australis or the Great Southern Land.
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